Conventional liquid crystal display systems are available as either color or monochrome displays. Each type of display provides certain advantages that are not available in the other type of display. For example, color displays provide wide versatility, finding applications in graphics displays and various user-friendly software applications. Moreover, color capability often is demanded by consumers. On the other hand, monochrome liquid crystal displays provide higher resolution than their color counterparts. Unlike conventional color displays, which require three picture elements ("pixels") of the display screen to display a single color data point (i.e., one pixel for each of the red, green, and blue components of the color data point), only one pixel is required to display each monochrome data point. Thus, a monochrome display can provide three times as many pixels as a similar color display.
Conventional color liquid crystal displays are manufactured by forming a color filter layer integrally with the liquid crystal displays screen. Thus, a display that is manufactured as a color display cannot double as a monochrome display to provide enhanced resolution. Similarly, a monochrome display cannot provide color capabilities. Using conventional designs, a single display cannot provide the advantages of both a color display and a monochrome display.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a single display that could provide the advantages of both a color display and a high-resolution monochrome display.